Talking about the facts, not all the organization and people run their server under Unix/Linux. In fact a large number of organization/entity prefers windows based server for their hosting solution. Anyway our discussion is not about argument whether to choose Linux/Unix or Windows based server. So what are the blog publishing software/applications for those who seeks windows server based self hosted solution? That’s what we are going to discuss. We all know there are huge arrays of open-source blog publishing application out there, as well as enterprise class self-hosted solutions, but unfortunately very few of them can be hosted on …

Lately Microsoft and Cisco were having quite a bit head to head battle for VoIP dominance, especially since Cisco’s acquisition of Webex a few months ago. Webex is the market leader in hosted Web conferencing. But now that Microsoft Acquires Tellme Networks, the battle got sweeter, or should I say hotter. On May 3rd, Microsoft announced that it has completed its acquisition of Tellme, the Mountain View, Calif.-based provider of voice services for everyday life, including nationwide (US) directory assistance, enterprise customer service and voice-enabled mobile search. So why not we check out MS Unified Communications, Microsoft’s …

In this series of Firefox add-on we will concentrate on the add-ons that give your browser extended capabilities and save you from installing third party software to perform the same task. This type of not only save your disk space but bring extra features right at your finger tip. Needless to mention, this increase your multitasking capability, so equally valuable to9 s6tudents and professionals. BetterGmail Yep it’s true not everyone use Gmail, but this also true that it’s a growing email service on …

ActionScript is a scripting language (Developed by Macromedia,now owned by Adobe ) based on ECMAScript (Also referred as JavaScript or Jscript), used primarily for the development of websites and software using the Adobe Flash Player platform. The latest ActionScript 3.0 introduced last June (2006) with Adobe Flex 2.0 and Flash player 9.0. This ActionScript is completely different than any of its predecessor since it uses an entirely different virtual machine. ActionScript 3.0 provides significant enhancement in performance, as well as more robust programming model that lends itself to complex Rich Internet Application development. You can say that’s the reason Flex is so kick ass RIA builder. How ActionScript work? The way ActionScript work is very simple like any other scripting you have known. Generally ActionScript is executed by the ActionScript Virtual Machine (AVM), which is part of Flash Player. ActionScript code is typically compiled into bytecode format by a compiler, such Flex Builder, or that is available in the Flex SDK and the Flex Data Services. The bytecode is embedded in SWF files, which are executed by the Flash Player, the run-time environment. Pretty simple and straight forward isn’t it? Why ActionScript 3.0? As you already know since Flex 2, all flex version use ActionScript 3.0, but what are the advantages of this? This goes beyond the scripting capabilities of previous versions of ActionScript. It is designed to facilitate the creation of highly complex applications (RIAs) with large data sets and object-oriented, reusable code bases. While ActionScript 3.0 is not required for content that runs in Adobe Flash Player 9, it assists to performance improvements that are only available with the AVM2, the new virtual machine. ActionScript 3.0 code can execute up to ten times faster than legacy ActionScript code. You must know Flash Player 9 still do support the older version of ActionScript Virtual Machine, AVM1 for backward compatibility with existing and legacy content. Apart from the above mentioned advantages ActionScript also poses features like- ECMAScript for XML, native support for regular expressions, a method closure for better event handling, sealed classes for improved memory usage and run-time exception for handle errors robustly. Usage There are two methods for using ActionScript in a Flex application- <mx:Script> tag, which lets you insert ActionScript code as if it was typed directly within the <mx:Script> tag.If you want smarter way to organize your code than the best method is always storing your code in an ActionScript file. An ActionScript source file is just a text files with the .as extension, just like CSS file. You can call this in MXML using these methods- Using <mx:Script> tag which lets you specify a source attribute that identifies an external ActionScript file to be loaded at a specific point in the application. For example- <mx:Script source=”example.as” /> In this method you have to use the import statement to specify the full name of the class (Case sensitive), so the ActionScript compiler knows where to find it. For example, if you want to use the FlexExam class in ActionScript, you first need to import that class using its full name, including package and class: import flash.tutor.FlexExam; Through code which specifically refers to the class name. It works very simple, by referring to another class name in ActionScript code; you tell the compiler to load the definition of that class. For example, given an external class called Exx, this statement causes a new instance of the Exx class to be created: var sqr:Exx = new Exx(40,20);

Last year I wrote two articles (Blogger’s Gear 1 & 2) featuring some of the most outstanding blog platforms/apps. But a lot of changes came to blogosphere since then, some of those tools grew bolder and some of those lost in thin air. Not only that, we were presented with a lot more new tools /apps for blogging. So I decided to give a blogging tools roundup which are available now not used to be available last year. You can say revision with amendment and affix. As you can feel it’s not possible to cover all those outstanding …

About a decade ago virtual meeting, conferencing was just an idea, now that idea not only came into reality but as well flourishing and expending beyond traditional boundaries. A lot of conferencing application/software you will find now which offers us rich arrays of features and functionality to make virtual meeting almost as realistic as the real one. We even have VR (Virtual Reality) conference in Second Life. Sounds the situation is pretty much cool right? But I am afraid it isn’t. When it comes to cost-effective, organized total conferencing solution that you can rely on, only a handful of them will be in your list of choice. First of all you have to understand we are talking about professional solution that fits the needs of from small business to corporation, not individual/personal. For personal solution I am still happy with my Skype, there are plenty more to choose from. Now days a most business needs not only a tele/web conferencing as well as a collaboration method integrated with the solution. Very few software/application currently poses that, if not costumed tailored. Last month I talked about “Microsoft Office Live Meeting”, which is one of the few solutions that made it to this category. Off course Microsoft’s Unified Communication Portal which is still in beta stage is intended to deliver much more sophisticated solutions. Anyway our discussion today isn’t Microsoft’s solution; instead we want to check out “Acrobat Connect Professional” by Adobe. Acrobat Connect Professional is part of adobe’s Acrobat family product line, which can be either Hosted or self-managed solution. Both presenter and participants need almost similar system requirements, though the presenter’s OS (operating system) has to be either windows or Mac. This solution is packed with some serious features all integrated which actually we can get using several solutions elsewhere. Here is the rundown of the key features of Adobe Acrobat Professional- 24/7/365 Personal meeting space Unlike Office live meeting Acrobat Connect Professional meeting rooms are always available via a steady URL. All personal settings/options are automatically saved since the first use, and automatically loaded there on for saving time and efforts. Even the layouts, previous notes, conversation history are saved for further reference if needed.

Sponsored Link In our last set of collaboration tools review we featured two of the most outstanding free online collaboration app. But if you think your choice is just limited to those two only, you are seriously mistaken. There are a bunch of app/software out there which are free (Partial or full). So our intended target would be seek and analyze their offers, pros and cons. Thank you all of who provided their valued feedback through …

Doesn’t matter you are just a high school grad student or high flying professional , you need to collaborate with your friends and colleague, time such it is. Though for friendly chit-chat and sharing resource and information social networks like Facebook should be more than enough. But when it comes to professional/business collaboration, the hunts for collaboration software/system begin. In case you are wondering, Collaborative software is the basis for computer supported cooperative workspace, in easy words the software/system that create a virtual office. This is also known as GroupWare. GroupWare have its own classifications on the basis of the …

In previous -Must have Firefox add-on series, we talked about three finest add-ons that make browsing a lot easier. This time our focus will be the add-ons that can extend your browser’s capability beyond usual. This add-ons or extensions are equally valuable to students as well as business users. DownThemAll! Not every Internet surfer in the world has high speed connection, and mostly they use some kind of download manager or accelerator to …

As a developer I naturally lean towards Firefox when it comes to browser choice. But Opera 9.2 Web browser is something to take note of, you have to like it regardless of your open source love or hate. Opera 9.2 is a cross platform browser. You will be shocked, if I say Opera 9.2 supports almost all the popular OS, which are not supported by IE or FF. Opera 9.2 is compatible with- Windows, Solaris Sparc, Solaris Intel, QNX, OS/2, MacOS, Linux Sparc, Linux PowerPC, Linux i386, FreeBSD i386, BeOS. You got to admit that’s a long list of compatibility. The key features of Opera 9.2- Speed Dial The coolest and unique feature of Opera 9.2 is Speed Dial. So what does this Speed Dial do? As the name suggests, it gives you quick access to your favorite/frequently visited sites via keyboard shortcuts or thumbnail click. Speed Dial appears in any new tabbed window you create in Opera. It’s a new way to provide users with quick access to favorite Web sites when a new tab is opened. The new window features nine thumbnails for Web sites you visit frequently. Clicking on any of the thumbnails causes Opera to show you the full Web page. Alternatively, you can open pages by pressing Ctrl+1 through 9. Say it isn’t cool enough? There are more in Opera 9.2, read on. (Click on thumbnail to see larger image).